“I don’t think it’s really good for our state to have a hodge-podge of minimum wages at different city levels and different counties throughout the state,” he said. “So it’s something that the legislature and the Governor need to address.”

Polk County’s supervisor board chairman Robert Brownell was also at the meeting. He says Polk County may be adopting a different wage minimum just to strengthen the statement to state legislators.

“So, having different numbers between Linn and Polk and Johnson County, in just the politics of it. Because they’ll want to take that up and standardize it,” he said. “That gives us an argument for something other than $8.25. I can only speak for myself.”

Brownell points out that without legislative action, it’s possible that three of the state’s four largest counties (Polk, Linn, and Johnson) could each have a different minimum wage.

Johnson County’s minimum wage increased to $9.15 an hour on May 1st, and is scheduled to increase to $10.10 on New Year’s Day.

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Linn County’s Supervisors are considering possibly raising the minimum wage in the region including Iowa’s second largest city, and have formed a study committee. Supervisors’ Chairman Ben Rogers says Linn County will thoroughly study increasing the Cedar Rapids area minimum wage.

“Many of us feel, like providers and community groups, felt that Johnson County rushed their discussion and implementation of the minimum wage,” he says.

Linn’s study committee includes small and large businesses, and hasn’t met yet. Rogers says it could even recommend wage increase exemptions.